THE Supreme Court has affirmed a landmark ruling that recognizes nearly 100 talents of GMA Network as regular employees, ending an 11-year legal battle and granting relief to those illegally terminated.
In a 33-page resolution dated July 16, 2025, made public over the weekend, the SC’s Third Division denied GMA Network’s petition challenging the Court of Appeals’ 2019 decision, which regularized employees hired between 2003 and 2013.
The high court highlighted a critical point in independent contracting: “freedom from control from the principal over the means and method of their work.”
The Supreme Court noted that GMA’s “Talent Agreements” showed that employees were bound by the company’s rules and direction. It also pointed out that GMA’s claim that talents worked flexible hours and had the liberty to work online was misleading.
“Instead, GMA is empowered to set the schedules of production and to require the talent’s presence,” the ruling read.
